49ers rally to beat Rams behind clutch passes by Jimmy Garoppolo

SANTA CLARA - It looked like a desperate heave to no one when it left Jimmy Garoppolo’s hand.

The 49ers had the ball at their 31-yard line with 58 seconds left, and they faced third and 16. Game was tied at 31. No one would have blamed Shanahan had he run the ball, drained the clock and played for overtime.

He didn’t call a run. He played to win.

Shanahan called what looked at first like a Hail Mary. Garoppolo dropped deep in the pocket and fired the ball as far as he could off his back foot. The pass looked hopeless, until it landed gently in the hands of Emmanuel Sanders, who was wide open at the Rams’ 23-yard line. Robbie Gould kicked a 33-yard field goal three plays later and the 49ers won 34-31 as time expired.

“It was a great call by Kyle Shanahan,” Sanders said. “He could have easily just ran a draw, ran the clock out and took it to overtime, but he said, ‘Screw it, we’re going for all the marbles.’”

Here’s what Shanahan, the 49ers head coach, saw during that play: “The safety was flat-footed in the middle of the field. We were able to get over the top of him. It was a good throw, great route. Usually, I get in I-formation and run the ball out of frustration on third and 16. That would have been bad in that situation, so I’m glad I didn’t.”

Shanahan’s aggressiveness Saturday paid off. And now, if the 49ers win their regular-season finale next week against the Seattle Seahawks, the 49ers will clinch the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs and a first-round bye.

“You would always love the first-round bye,” Shanahan said. “You always would like two games instead of three to get to the big one, and you would like to rest your guys if you could.”

The 49ers played most of the game like a team that needed rest, particularly their defense. It generated zero sacks and gave up 21 points in the first half alone, mostly because it couldn’t stop simple bootleg passes.

“We made some adjustments on that, which I think was definitely needed,” Shanahan said. “From what I saw in the second half, it looked like we slowed them down a number of times on those rollouts. They had a good plan for us. We were playing sound in the run game. When you play sound in the run game, that’s usually what you give up - the bootlegs. But we were able to slow it down enough during the second half.”

The 49ers’ offense also struggled for most of the game. ?Garoppolo got sacked a season-high six times and threw two interceptions. His quarterback rating was just 71.2, and he repeatedly held the ball a beat too long instead of checking down to a running back or a tight end.

But he was clutch.

With 2:30 remaining, Garoppolo jogged into the huddle for the final drive. Tie game. A field goal would win it. But on first and 10 from the 49ers’ 25-yard line, Garoppolo got sacked by Aaron Donald and Dante Fowler for a six-yard loss.

Overtime seemed likely.

Two plays later, though, Garoppolo converted his first ?third-and-16 of the drive. Yes, he converted two third-and-16s. What are the freaking odds? This time, he threw a strike to Kendrick Bourne, who turned upfield and dove four yards to pick up the first down.

“I just saw a spot in the middle,” Bourne said. “And Jimmy was on time. If we can get the ball out on time, we can be unstoppable. Sometimes, you get pressured and stuff happens, but when we’re on time and he’s getting the ball out with perfect timing, we’ve seen what we can be.”

Bourne’s 18-yard catch gave the 49ers a first down at their 37-yard line with 1:17 remaining. Still a long way to go for a field goal. Plus, on the next play, Garoppolo got sacked again, this time by Samson Ebukam. Another six-yard loss.

Hello, overtime?

No. Two plays later on third and 16, Garoppolo did it again. Dropped back and threw that desperate heave to Sanders which wasn’t so desperate after all.

“What we’ve been working for this entire season, it came down to that play, that drive,” Sanders said. “ We have to make those plays, and we were able to.”